Americans are sending a pretty clear message to Congress members who have continually pushed hugely unpopular legislation this election year – shut up and get the hell out of office.

The recent success of Tea Party candidates hasn’t necessarily been too closely related to their actual policies – a new Gallup poll reminds us precisely why anti-incumbency fever is running rampant – people despise the government with a passion and that hatred shows no signs of abating.

The survey shows that the level of public approval for Congress – 18 per cent – is a new low for a midterm election year. A sitting Congress has never been more unpopular shortly before a midterm vote in history.

“Both the president and the Democratic-led Congress saw a sharp slide in their public approval ratings last summer, punctuated by a sharp drop in October. Their ratings subsequently leveled off, but fell slightly further this summer, and remain at the lower level today,” reports Gallup.

Increasing disgust and distrust of Congress can only be beneficial to a plethora of anti-incumbency candidates who are set to ride the wave of resistance to big government in attempting to overthrow the status quo this November.